Learning To Be Comfortable
by somuchanemoia
Summary: Yuri is terrified of dogs. He doesn't know why. He doesn't know how. But now he has to live with one.


12

UNTITLED

*REMEMBER TO REMOVE HEADER AND DOUBLE SPACING BEFORE POSTING*

 **Learning To Be Comfortable**

 **Written by:** SadieAnnabethMellark ( porkcutletbowltrash)

 **Summary:** Yuri is terrified of dogs. He doesn't know why. He doesn't know how. But now he has to live with one.

o.O.o

"This will be your room." Six-year-old Yuri Plisetsky looked up at the tall man over him with wide green eyes. Yakov was his name, at least, Yuri was pretty sure it was. He had met Yakov a few times before when he still lived in Moscow with his Grandpa, but he had always been a little too shy to say much to him, staying close to his grandfather's side while the two older men talked. He had been told that this man was wanting to coach him as a figure skater, something he had been very excited about since his grandpa had told him the news.

But then he heard that he wouldn't be able to stay with the older man in Moscow anymore. He'd have to move to St. Petersburg and would be living with the scary looking coach that would be teaching him.

The drive to the airport and the travel had been painful and tearful for Yuri. His grandpa had come to drop him off in Moscow to the coach, but then he had taken the next flight back to Moscow leaving Yuri alone after a quick kiss to the forehead and a tight hug. He had wanted to cry, but he also knew his grandpa wouldn't want him to be sad. He was now able to live his dream, become the best skater in the world and make his grandpa proud.

"Thank you." Yuri gave a soft smile and a nod of gratitude like he had seen his grandpa do countless times before.

"Your welcome, Yuri. The bathroom is down the hall," Yakov pointed to a door at the end of the hallway, "and in between your room and the bathroom is Viktor's room."

"Viktor?" he gave a soft reply. Could he be talking about…

Yakov's face was still passive, but he crouched down to be face to face with Yuri, "You've heard of Viktor Nikiforov before, have you?"

He nodded rapidly, making his unruly blonde hair fall into his eyes, "He's a two-time gold medalist in the Junior division and everyone thinks he's going to be the next big thing in mens figure skating. Everyone was really surprised when he won silver on his first senior circuit!" As he spoke, his voice was speeding up in excitement. He'd be very impressed by Viktor Nikiforov, the current Russian superstar of the ice.

Yakov gave a breathy chuckle and patted the young boy on the head, "Yes. Don't let him hear you say that though, alright?"

Yuri frowned softly, "Oh…Why not?"

"He's already got a big head on his shoulders. Don't need to inflate it even more." Yakov gave him a smile, before pushing the door open to the room and leaving Yuri to wonder what he had exactly meant by that.

o.O.o

Yuri had been living in St. Petersburg for three days now and hadn't seen or heard Viktor at all. Dinner time had consisted of his coach, Yakov (whom he'd realized wasn't all that intimidating outside of the rink), Lilia (Yakov's wife and Yuri's ballet teacher) and Yuri himself, sitting quietly and awkwardly around the table.

Yuri was beginning to wonder if Viktor had even lived here. He hadn't heard either of his new guardians say anything about him since Yakov had mentioned him that first day. He had still been too nervous to ask his new guardians if Viktor was truly here, so he held back the question.

On the fourth day of living in St. Petersburg, he had realized that Yakov had not been making Viktor up. He had woken early that morning, the sun still rising in the sky outside of his window, showing signs of a new day; a day where he would finally be allowed onto the ice. The six-year-old rubbed his eyes sleepily and stretched before pulling himself out of the warmth of his covers. Excitedly, Yuri dressed quickly in a pair of warm sweatpants and one of his favorite t-shirts, before pulling on socks and his worn pair of running shoes that his grandpa had gotten him for his last birthday. He quickly made up his bed (Lilla was very strict that he takes care of his room), before throwing open the door and heading for the kitchen. The light in the kitchen was on and Yuri immediately headed for it, figuring it was either Yakov or Lilia (both were always up before he was normally) but was surprised when he didn't see Yakov leaned against the counter reading the paper or Lilia sipping a warm cup of coffee.

The sight that met him was new.

A tall slender man stood at the counter, pouring himself a cup of coffee, his silver hair tied back and flung over his shoulder. He was dressed in a pair of warm jogging pants and the red and white jacket. A team Russia jacket. The same one that Yuri had seen countless times on TV. The same jacket that he too would one day wear. The man still hadn't noticed him yet.

"Viktor Nikiforov…" he whispered quietly to himself.

The man turned at the noise and Yuri blushed for a second before he looked up at the older skater who was chuckling softly, "And you must be Yuri Plisetsky. You're Yakov's new student from Moscow." Yuri nodded rapidly as if he was suddenly a bobblehead.

"And you're…"

"Viktor," The man knelt down so he could look Yuri in the eye as he stuck out his hand, "It's nice to meet you, Yuri."

Yuri reached out and put his small hand in Viktor's larger and warm hand, "It's very nice to meet you too, Mr. Nikiforov."

Viktor gave him a heart-shaped smile, "Just call me Vitya, Yuri. Everyone does."

"Okay," Yuri gave him a soft smile in return.

"There we are," Viktor smiled and placed a hand on top of the six-year old's head, "Yakov and Lilia are already at the rink this morning. I told them that I'd bring you in once you were up. Is that alright?"

Yuri nodded rapidly once more, his blonde hair flopping into his eyes once again.

o.O.o

Yuri had discovered that Viktor was just as cool as he seemed on TV; extremely nice (but was a little too touchy for Yuri's taste, not that he would tell him that) and just as incredible on the ice as Yuri had imagined. The way his long silver hair danced around him as he glided on the ice was intoxicating to look at. I want to be like that when I'm older, Yuri told himself as his eyes followed the older skater. He was supposed to be working on his compulsory figures, but he couldn't stop looking at the gold medalist. It was something he had found himself struggling with all day.

By the time he had gotten home with Lilia that day, he was exceedingly tired. His grandpa had told him that training in St. Petersburg would be tiring, but he had never thought that it would make him want to go back to taking naps during the day. Naps were for babies, not future world champions. He bet Viktor didn't take naps after skating at the rink. However, he was exhausted. What others didn't know, couldn't hurt them could it?

After a long internal dispute with himself, Lilia decided for him and sent him off to bed to rest. He had been embarrassed as she sent him off, telling himself that he wouldn't sleep, that he'd just "rest his eyes" as he grandpa would say. He curled up on his bed, shutting his eyes as his exhaustion settled on him fully. His breathing evened out and his eyes felt heavier until he was finally asleep.

He'd waken hours later, the sky dark and his stomach rumbling. What time was it? Had he missed dinner? Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he stumbled out of his bed before heading to the door. Stepping out into the hallway, Yuri was stopped in his tracks by the sound of panting and scratching coming from the end of the dark hallway. He squinted and tried to tell himself that the shapes of figures darting around in the dark had been purely his imagination. He took a step backward quietly, not wanting to let whoever was the cause of the noise to know he was there.

He stumbled backward more, hoping that Yakov, Lilia or Viktor would be in the living room or kitchen. Maybe they would know what was making the weird sound. The comfort of the idea stopped as soon as he peered into the empty dark empty living room, neither his guardians or his idol in sight. He felt his chest tighten and hugged himself; Yuri would have to face the noise on his own.

Before he could even get the courage to walk further down the hall, the hall was filled with a dim light as the bathroom door opened. As soon as the door opened, Yuri froze as a huge ball of fur came hurtling out of the bathroom, panting and barking at him. It's chocolate brown curls wrapped around its whole body and it was almost as tall as he was.

His heart stopped momentarily in fear as he eyed the dog in front of him. He wasn't sure when his fear of dogs had started, but he knew he had never trusted them. His grandpa had never had a dog, always preferring cats. His friends never brought their pets to school with them and the occasional sighting of a dog in the park always made Yuri stay close to his grandpa's side and keep as far away as possible. He had never seen a dog this close up before and the thing absolutely terrified him.

It was the kind of fear that made blood run cold; that made the heart stop and everything happen in slow motion. Yuri couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't cry even. He could only hear his own rapid heartbeat whirling through his mind.

A whistle sounded from the doorway to the bathroom, but Yuuri couldn't move his eyes from the huge monster that was starting at him, tongue out and panting.

"Makkachin, here." As soon as the dog had appeared, it was suddenly gone from in front of him.

With shaky legs, Yuri took a few steps back towards his door and looked up to see where the huge dog had come from. Crouched in the doorway to the bathroom, Viktor smiled at the huge animal, cooing at it and rubbing his own nose against the dogs. He couldn't stop staring at Viktor; when had Viktor gotten a…dog? And how had he never seen it before?

Viktor's eyes glanced up at him and he smiled, "Yuri! You're up." Yuri gave a soft shaky nod feeling tears well in his eyes now that his heart was starting to slow.

Viktor must've noticed the look on Yuri's face, because a moment later his smile faded into one of concern, "Are you okay?" Yuri gulped and looked at the older skater for a moment before he dashed back to his room to hide in its safety.

o.O.o

A few weeks had passed since then and Yuri was now consciously looking in every room for the dog before going in. Sometimes, at night, he always thought he could hear scratching from the other side of the wall from Viktor's room and would slide deeper under the covers. That night, Viktor had tried to get Yuri to talk about why he was so upset, but Yuri just stayed curled up in a ball for the rest of the night until Yakov had come home from the rink and pulled him out into the dining room for dinner.

Things were starting to settle into a routine. Viktor almost always took him to the rink in the morning since Yakov and Lilia were usually gone before sunrise in the morning. Yuri would then be dropped off by Viktor at Lilia's seven a.m. ballet class and then stay for her technique class that started at nine. By noon, he was sat with the other members of the Russian skating team to eat lunch. He had found that he liked his teammates even though they were all varied in age. He found that he liked Georgi (even though he talked far too much about stuff Yuri didn't understand) and Mila (she was nine and often liked to trade sandwiches with him; Lilia always packed tuna and he was starting to loathe it). He also found that he enjoyed sitting and listening to Stephan, a boy a few years younger than Viktor, talk to him about all sorts of things from Japanese cartoons (called anime) to funny stories of his rink mates. After lunch, he would actually be able to go on the ice, but then he'd be on the ice for four or five hours. Lilia would take him home usually, where he would take a short nap and then wander around the house until dinner. Dinner had become more pleasant since Viktor had turned up; he seemed to drag the conversation out of people making them all enjoy each others company. The dog had been nowhere in sight; he was even starting to think that the dog had been a trick of the light. Maybe Viktor was just dog sitting for the night…

He still missed home, but he was slowly starting to find that the Russian skaters were like one big dysfunctional family and he fit right in.

It was one of the nights that Yakov and Lilia had left Yuri and Viktor in the house by themselves (trusting Viktor to not let Yuri accidentally burn down the house or hurt himself). They were both sitting on the couch next to each other watching some soap opera that Viktor had gotten him hooked on. He had no idea why certain things were such a big deal, but he enjoyed the bad acting so it was worth the confusion. He was enjoying watching the weird looking actress on TV over dramatically faint when he felt eyes watching him. A commercial had come on after the scene ended and Viktor reached over to the coffee table to turn down the volume on the TV.

"Vitya...we were—", he turned to look at the older skater. Viktor's hair was hanging loosely around his shoulders today and it made him look even more pretty than normal.

"Yuri? Are you scared of dogs?" Viktor asked as he looked at him with curious eyes.

He was so taken aback by the question that he felt his mouth opening and closing like a goldfish, "I-I…"

"It's alright if you are. Makkachin is really friendly. She won't hurt you."

Yuri blushed and looked down, "I'm not scared…" He was hoping he could bluff his way through this. He didn't want Viktor to think he was a crybaby.

Viktor gave a gentle smile, "Are you okay if Makkachin comes out to say hello to you? She's been cooped up in my room for a while and whenever she is allowed out, she goes and lays in front of your door."

Yuri gulped at the thought of the huge animal waiting for him outside his door, "Uhm…"

"Come on, let's go fetch her." Viktor smile and popped up out of his seat before striding across the room and into the hallway.

Yuri felt his insides clench. He'd have to see the dog again; be face to face with it. His heart was beginning to race as he heard Viktor give a soft whistle from the other room. It was coming.

It was coming for him.

He closed his eyes and pulled his knees up to his chest, listening for it instead of looking.

Viktor whistled once more, "Good girl, Makkachin. Stay."

"Vitya…" Yuri gave a whispered whimper as the cushion next to him dip.

"It's alright, Yuri. You can open your eyes. She's not near you. I promise." He felt Viktor pat his head gently in comfort and he peeked his eye open. He couldn't see the dog anywhere. He opened his eyes slowly and that's when he saw the giant dog. She was sitting in the corner, looking at him, her tongue lolling out as she panted, her head tilted to the side as if she were studying him.

"Is this alright Yuri?" Viktor asked as he tilted Yuri's head up to meet his deep blue eyes.

Yuri's stomach was doing flips and he blinked back tears, before giving a shaky nod.

o.O.o

Makkachin, Yuri had learned her name, sitting in the corner of the room had become a frequent occurrence. Whenever Yuri sat down next to Viktor at the house, he would have Makkachin sit in the other corner of the room from Yuri. The first few days had made Yuri constantly in a state of anxiety, but as time went on, he was slowly starting to come desensitized to Makkachin's presence. He'd learned that when Viktor had commanded her to stay that she wouldn't suddenly charge him or try to eat him. Yuri was even starting to let her presence fade into the background of the house.

As usual, Viktor and Yuri were sitting at the table before dinner. Viktor was watching Yuri finish up his homework while he sipped on a cup of hot tea and correcting his Cyrillic when needed. As Yuri was finishing his last sentence, he heard Viktor's voice call out.

"Makka," he whistled for her, "Come."

Yuri's head snapped up to look at the brown furred poodle as he let out a strangled whimper, "Vitya— "

"Shh. Don't worry. She's going to sit on my other side. Remember, she won't hurt you." Viktor smiled gently at him and put a hand atop his head in a gesture of comfort.

Yuri didn't say anything else as the dog bounded over to her master and yipped at him happily.

"Good girl, Makka. Good girl. Daddy is so proud of you." Viktor cooed at the animal as he scratched behind her ears, before turning to smile at Yuri, "That wasn't so bad was it, Yurachka?"

Yuri starred wide-eyed at the dog but felt himself ease slightly when she let her tongue loll out of her mouth in a doggy smile.

"I-I guess not." He let his eyes move away from Makkachin to look up at Viktor who was looking at him happily, "I-It wasn't too bad, I suppose."

o.O.o

It was nearing Christmas time in St. Petersburg, meaning Yuri had almost been there for six months. Yakov and Lilia had finally given into his and Viktor's pleas to buy a Christmas tree for the occasion and that night, Viktor had finally convinced Yakov to stay up a little late so they could put up the huge tree in the small living room. Over the months, Viktor had finally worked Yuri up to finally being able to be in a two-foot radius of the poodle without feeling nervous, a feat Viktor seemed to be proud of. Yuri watched giddily from where he stood next to Makkachin as the two older men struggled with the faux tree, trying to figure out how they would fit it in the living room. He had been excited that this was one thing that wouldn't change this Christmas even though he wouldn't be able to go home to Moscow to see his grandpa. The news had been devastating to the six-year-old at first, but over time he had come to terms with the fact that his grandfather had already been told he'd have to work both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Viktor threw a heart-shaped smile Yuri's way and laughed heartily when Yakov almost knocked the tree over as he struggled to get out from behind its branches.

"Careful, Yakov, Lilia would be angry if we broke something." Viktor teased.

"Stuff it, Vitya," Yakov called back before muttering something to under his breath that made Viktor chuckle wheezily. Yuri himself couldn't help but laugh along as Makkachin barked happily at Viktor, as he went into singing badly at the top of his lungs to Christmas carols, some of which Yuri knew and others that he wasn't familiar with. If he didn't like Viktor, he was sure that he'd be scarred for life by the older skater's awful pitch, but watching the man that had become like an older brother to him having fun made it something that Yuri could stand.

Yuri, himself, couldn't help but join in on the festivities though. He had come to love Yakov, Lilia, and Viktor as family in the past six months. They had taken care of him, even if they showed it by packing him a tuna sandwich every day for lunch, and he'd realized that he cared for them too. They were a family.

His mind was still whirring over what he'd heard the other night when he was trying to sneak into the kitchen. Lilia and Yakov had been talking to each other quietly (he immediately knew that his plan had been foiled) which he politely listened in on once he heard Viktor's name and birthday in the mix.

Viktor's birthday was coming soon. He'd been enough of a fan to know that his idol's birthday was on Christmas. This had raised a new question in Yuri's mind. What was he going to get Viktor for his birthday? He didn't have much money on him and he had no idea how he'd even be able to go to the store without Yakov, Lilia, or Viktor himself taking him there. He didn't even know what Viktor would like.

He was still blatantly confused as what to get Viktor now, but he tried to not let the thought bother him.

His eyes crinkled as he smiled and he watched as Lilia came out into the living room, her hair flowing around her shoulders and her crisp pajamas being covered by a warm looking bathrobe.

"You all are so loud." She snapped, but Yuri knew she wasn't angry by the soft smile on her lips.

Viktor chuckled, "Sorry, Lilia."

She shook her head with exasperation, "No you're not, Vitya."

"At least I tried to be polite."

With a sigh, she turned and threw them a smile once more, "At least Makkachin isn't making a racket too. She's starting to become my favorite out of all of you. Be in bed by midnight. I want Yuri in bed by eleven at the latest."

"Yes, Lilia." Yuri and Viktor called after her. Yakov shook his head and mumbled to himself again as he fiddled with the tree branches.

Yuri turned to look down on the poodle who was panting softly next to him when the idea dawned on him.

Maybe he did have a gift for Viktor's birthday after all.

o.O.o

Christmas Day had somehow fallen on a day off of training for both Yuri and Viktor, which had been very exciting for the six-year-old, although he suspected that Yakov had pulled a few strings for both of them. He awoke early that morning and promptly came out of his room and into the kitchen. As usual, Viktor was standing in the kitchen like always to wait for him. Instead of his usual training attire though, he was still dressed in his pajamas, a cup of coffee in his hand and Makkachin sitting next to him, her tongue lolling out as usual as she stared up at Viktor.

When Yuri skidded into the room, almost slipping on the floor in his socks, Viktor couldn't help but laugh, "Merry Christmas, Yurachka."

For the first time since he had been here, he gave Viktor a big toothy smile; the one you could see where Yuri had lost a tooth a couple of weeks ago when he smacked his face on the ice and that made his eyes crinkle at the corners.

"Happy Birthday, Vitya!"

Viktor smiled and knelt in front of him, his coffee mug still balanced in his fingers, "Thank you." He placed a hand on top of Yuri's head and gave him a heart shape smile, "Yakov and Lilia said that they wish you a Merry Christmas. They wanted to be here this morning, but they still had students who were training today."

"That's okay." Yuri nodded, "We'll still see them later, anyways."

Viktor hummed, "Yes. What do you want to do today, Yuri?"

"I want to show you your birthday present…" Yuri looked up at him with big green eyes. He was really wanting to impress Viktor with this.

Viktor gave a soft smile, "You didn't have to get me anything."

"Well, technically I didn't…"

"Alright…" Viktor's eyebrow arched, which only made Yuri giggle.

He softened his smile and moved into the living room so there were multiple meters between Viktor and him.

"Ready?"

"Sure, Yuri. What is it?"

Yuri looked behind Viktor at Makkachin who was laying down watching him, "Makkachin. Come."

Viktor's face froze for a moment in panic, "Yuri…"

"Come here, Makkachin." The poodle's ears perked up and she stood before starting to come to him.

"Stay, Makkachin." Viktor threw over his shoulder. The poodle halted in her tracks and gave him sad eyes as if telling him off for making her stay.

"Vitya…" Yuri groaned.

"Yuri, you're scared of— "

"Makkachin, come here girl." Makkachin's ears perked once more and this time, she moved more swiftly towards the younger boy.

Viktor's eyes were beginning to bulge slightly as he reached for Makkachin, hoping to be able to stop her before she scared Yuri, but she slipped away from him before he could.

"Yuri, get back…" Viktor stood, ready to try and help if things went south, but the boy stood his ground. He gave him a wide smile and then reached out for Makkachin.

Makkachin came to a stop in front of Yuri and sat at his feet, "Good girl." Yuri praised and then with amazing strength, reached out and pet her head a few times shakily before looking up at Viktor.

The shock on Viktor Nikiforov's face was priceless. His pale skin was even paler than normal and his cerulean blue eyes were wide. He was almost slack-jawed and he seemed frozen in time.

That was until his fingers let go of the coffee mug in his hands and it fell to the floor.

Glass shattered; coffee and milk going all over the floor. But yet, Viktor stayed still for another minute before launching himself at Yuri. Viktor's arms wrapped around him and pulled him into a tight hug as he started gushing over him, his heart-shaped smile lighting up his blue eyes that were forming tears in the corners.

"You did, it Yuri! You did it."

"I did it." Yuri echoed as he smiled back at Viktor, "Are you impressed?"

Viktor pulled back, leaving one arm around the boy's waist as he put a hand on Yuuri's head, "Extremely. Are you?"

Yuri nodded, "Makkachin is really nice."

"I promised that she was didn't I?" Viktor said before pulling the boy to him once more, "I'm so proud of you Yura."

"Are you happy?" Yuri asked quietly.

"Yes. I'm happy because you're finally settling in here. You were always so sad when you first came here." Viktor held the boy tighter and laid his cheek on Yuri's soft platinum blonde tendrils, "I happy you're comfortable."

 **A/N: (** Alright, I'm not gonna lie, this prompt was hard for me. I have things I'm scared of and all, but I have a phobia of snakes (which I never come across, so…) and also (oddly enough) automatic garage doors (I know it's weird), this was a new experience for me. I researched this a lot, but I'm not sure my depiction of this is accurate. If it's not, I apologize to those who it's offended. Personally, I don't have to worry about my phobias a lot because the probability of me coming in contact with them are very, very limited, so this was a new experience for me. Also, I know everyone is kind of OOC, but I'm rolling with it for today. I hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it. I love you all my lovelies. Have an awesome day! –Sam **)**


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